I'm interested in photography, however I don't know what SLR cameras are good for beginners. What I would ultimately like to do is take HDR photos. I don't really know what specs I should be looking for in a camera. If someone could help me out I'd really appreciate it!

I also seems like a lot of people like to go for a Nikon or a Canon...could just be the sites that I ended up reading though. Thanks in advanced!

You have many choices out there. I think it all depends on your price range.

The (canon) Rebel XTi is very cheap and popular, but I think you can do better with a camera like a Pentax K10D for about the same price. I think if you can afford to go better a Nikon D80 would be perfect.

Just go read reviews, look at the cameras in stores, etc.. It really depends.

I personally like Canon over Nikon, I think you get more for your money. My first SLR was a Canon XTi. Personally I thinks its a great camera to start out with, the only problem I found is it's kinda small if you have big hands. You can fix this problem if you add a battery grip. Which gives the camera a totally different feel, more pro like. Also, their are a lot of good deals out their for the Canon XTi.

They would both serve the same purpose. The tripod would have more flexibility compared to finding the right surface with the right height and so on.
If you really want to do HDR, I'd suggest a remote shutter as well.

I like my Pentax K100D. It is much cheaper than the other ones but it has 10 mega pixels (i know thats not all that matters) and I am happy with it. Recommend a new flash though as I have had a few problems with mine...

You can't buy a camera off of what everyone says to buy! If that was the case everyone who has come into this site would buy a Canon or Nikon! You need to: 1st find out what you want the camera for! (you are not just going to only take HRD pics!)2nd Find what options you will need the most for what you want (just cause someone tells you buy a Nikon still tells you nothing! There's a ton of different models!3rd go to a store and hold a few! see what feels right in your hands and what seems to be the easiest 2 use for you.4th go home and read some reviews on the ones you liked.5th buy a Sony! (JK)
Every single person told me to buy a Canon or Nikon! That helped my decision on what to buy NONE!If anything it did nothing but confuse me. John Doe owns a D300 and has been a photographer for 30 + years. He says the D300 is the best camera on the market. So you run out and buy one. Well now you just spent a thousand dollars on a camera you have no idea how to use,and when you do learn how to use it, It will take you a few more years to actually learn how to use all its features.Or you will not have the features you need for what you want. Most brands are about the same. They all have a low/medium/and high end line and all have very very similar options. I drove to the camera shop 100% sure I was going home with a Nikon D200! I came home with a Sony A-100. Not because someone told me to buy it. But because It felt right in my hands,It had features that Nikon and Canon don't have,and it was a heck of allot cheaper than what I was going to buy! Am I happy? I couldn't of picked a better camera!!! Should you go out and buy one? You might think it's a P.O.S., that depends on allot more factors than what camera someone tells you to get

This question is asked about every other day and the general consensus is go to the store, play with them all and get what feels best to you. You'll be happy with it. Just do your research.

When I bought mine I was almost dead set on a Nikon D80. If I didn't get that I was going to get a Canon. I ended up with the Sony for various reasons, but I'm positive I'd have been happy with a Canon or Nikon as well.